The invention concerns a closure of the type comprising on the one hand a base part comprising a top opening and a bottom opening at its axial ends and intended to be mounted on the neck of a receptacle, and on the other hand a part forming a cap itself comprising an annular ring connected to the base part and a cover associated with the ring by a joining and hinging device, the cover being able to be moved, with respect to the ring, between an open position and a closed position.
The invention concerns more specifically such closures in which the shape and geometry of the joining and hinging device are suitable for allowing moulding of the part forming a cap in the closed position of the cover. This is because, firstly, moulding in the closed position reduces the manufacturing costs of the closure: the mould used is of reduced dimensions, therefore less expensive; it is not necessary to provide an addition operation of closing the closing/opening part after the closure is removed from the mould in order to allow the storage and delivery thereof in the closed position, which avoids extending the cycle time and reducing the production rate. Moreover, moulding in the closed position makes it possible to fairly simply provide tamper-evident means between the ring and the cover by moulding these tamper-evident means in a single piece with the part forming a cap.
However, closures of this known type poses a certain number of problems. First of all, the known closures do not meet the increasing demand for asepticisation of the closures, by immersion in a bath of asepticising liquid or by spraying such a liquid.
This is illustrated by means of an example of a closure with a hinge of the prior art depicted in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the closed position, respectively in a side view, seen in the direction of the arrow A, and seen in axial section. The closure 100 comprises on the one hand a base part 101, intended to be mounted on the neck of a receptacle, and comprising a funnel 102 provided with a top opening. The closure 100 also comprises a closing/opening part 103 hinged on the base part 101 by a hinge 104, and able to be moved between a closed position in which the closing/opening part 103 covers the funnel 102 and closes off the top opening thereof, and an open position, in which the top opening of the funnel 102 is left clear. The hinge 104 has the general shape of a butterfly, comprising a top edge 105 in the form of an arc of a circle connected to the closing/opening part 103, a bottom edge 106 in the form of an arc of a circle connected to the base part 101, and two lateral edges 107a, 107b. 
Asepticisation is carried by immersing the closure in a bath and/or by spraying an asepticising liquid, the closing/opening part being in the closed position. After this operation, it is necessary to rinse the closure in order to eliminate any trace of aseptic liquid. This operation is performed by spraying a rinsing liquid onto the closure. However, when the closing/opening part 103 is in the closed position, it exists a space e of very small dimensions between the hinge 104 and each of the two parts 101, 103 of the closure 100 (see FIG. 1). Because of this, it is not possible to rinse the closure 100 suitably, traces of aseptic liquid being liable to remain in the said space e, which is desirable.
In addition, the structure of this type of hinge—and in particular the small distance separating the top edge 105 from the bottom edge 106, does not make it possible to produce closures which, when the closing/opening part 103 is in the closed position, provides an excellent seal between the base part 101 and the closing/opening part 103. This is because, when the closing/opening part 103 is in the closed position, the bottom edge 108 of the closing/opening part 103 and the top edge 109 of the base part 101 are not perfectly contiguous, a clearance j existing between them (see FIGS. 1 to 3).
As a result, when the closure 100 is immersed in a bath for the asepticisation operation, the aseptic liquid can infiltrate through the space e and through the clearance j to the area between the external face of the funnel 102 and the internal face of the closing/opening part 103. However, this area cannot be suitably rinsed by spraying. This is all the more harmful since the consumer may drink the content of the receptacle provided with the closure directly through the funnel. Though this problem related to the asepticisation of closures has been illustrated with reference to a closure moulded in the open position, the same applies to the known closures moulded closed.
Moreover, the known closures do not give entire satisfaction with regard to tamper-evidence. This is because, usually, these closures comprise simple breakable bridges, broken into two parts when the cover is first opened. However, when the cover is closed again, the user does not see clearly whether the bridges have been broken, because of the small dimensions of these and the small distance separating the tamper-evident strip from the cover. In addition, the two parts of the bridge are placed exactly facing one another again.
Other tamper-evident means exist, but have other drawbacks. For example, when a completely detachable tamper-evident strip is provided, the user must take care of the removal of this tamper-evident strip. It is often thrown on the floor, but children may put it in their mouths; there is also a risk that the strip may be put back in the receptacle. The invention aims to mitigate these drawbacks.
To this end, and according to a first aspect, the invention concerns a closure of the aforementioned type, provided with tamper-evident means between the ring and the cover, in which the joining and hinging device is in the form of at least one strap, a first end of which is connected to the ring and a second end of which is connected to the cover, the arrangement of the strap, the base part and the part forming a cap being such that, when the base part and the part forming a cap are connected to one another, the cover being in the closed position, at least the sensitive zones of the closure are either situated in a sealed closed space or liable to be in contact with a liquid when the closure is immersed in said liquid or when said liquid is sprayed on the closure, and able then to be treated in order to remove the said liquid, so as to allow the asepticisation of the closure.
“Sensitive areas of the closure” means areas of the closure which are wanted to be free from contamination, in particular because a user is liable to place his mouth there, or because they may constitute a space for the proliferation of pathogenic germs which can be transferred to the content of the receptacle. The function of the particular structure of the closure according to the invention is thus to make the sensitive areas of the closure either enclosed in a impervious space or accessible to contact with an asepticising liquid, and to a rinsing liquid, for example sprayed. “Impervious” means impervious to liquids, when the closure is immersed in a liquid at a pressure less than 3 bar, or when a liquid is sprayed onto the closure. For example, the space between the external face of the cover and the opposite face of the strap is of sufficiently large size to be able to be treated in order to remove said liquid.
In addition, when the base part comprises an annular wall from which there project, substantially perpendicularly and in opposite directions, firstly an external skirt provided with an internal thread intended to cooperate with a complementary external thread on a receptacle neck, and secondly a funnel intended to be covered by the cover, the closure can be such that, when the cover is in the closed position, the cover and the funnel cooperate sealingly so that, in particular, the space between the funnel and the cover is closed and impervious. The tamper-evident means of a closure provided with such a strap can comprise an element connected on the one hand to the ring and on the other hand to the cover, said element being arranged so as to be deformed and broken when the cover is first opened, the element then being separated into a first part having a first end attached to the ring and a free second end and a second part having a first end attached to the cover and a free second end, the function of the arrangement of said element and said plug being to move the two free ends away from one another so that, when the cover is once again in the closed position, it exists between said two free ends a sufficiently great distance to be easily detected by a user.
The invention also concerns a closure comprising on the one hand a base part and on the other hand a part forming a cap itself comprising a ring and a cover associated by a joining and hinging device in which the tamper-evident means provided between the ring and the cover comprise at least one element connected on the one hand to the ring and on the other hand to the cover, said element being arranged so as to be deformed and broken when the cover is first opened, the element then being separated into a first part having a first end attached to the ring and a free second end and a second part having a first end attached to the cover and a free second end, the function of the arrangement of the said element and said plug being to move the two free ends away from one another so that, when the cover is once again in the closed position, it exists between said two free ends a sufficiently great distance to be easily detected by a user. For example the ring has, at a distance from the joining and hinging device, at least one recess formed from the top edge of the ring situated opposite the cover over a height less than the height of said ring, said recess having a width less than one third of the length of the circumference of the ring, the tamper-evident element being intended to be housed in said recess whilst being connected on the one hand at its bottom part to the bottom of the recess and on the other hand at its top part to the cover. Complementary mechanical means can be provided for forcing the deformation of the tamper-evident element when the cover is first opened or when the cover is closed following on from the first opening, so as to move away the free ends of the two parts of the broken tamper-evident element. The joining and hinging device of a closure provided with such tamper-evident means can be in the form of at least one strap, a first end of which is connected to the ring and a second end of which is connected to the cover, the arrangement of the strap, the base part and the part forming a cap being such that, when the base part and the part forming a cap are connected to one another, the cover being in the closed position, at least the sensitive zones of the closure are either situated in a sealed closed space or liable to be in contact with a liquid when the closure is immersed in said liquid or when the said liquid is sprayed on the closure, and able then to be treated in order to remove said liquid, so as to allow the asepticisation of the closure.
According to the second aspect, the invention concerns an assembly comprising a closure as previously described and a receptacle neck or a receptacle having a neck, said receptacle being empty or at least partially filled with a certain content. Finally, according to a third aspect, the invention relates to a method of producing such a closure which the annular ring, the cover, the strap and the tamper-evident means are moulded in a single piece and in the closed position.